Tape dispenser attachment

ABSTRACT

A tape severing and tab forming device formed integral with, but preferably forming an attachment for, a tape dispenser; the device incorporating a tape contacting member and a tape severing member. One of the members, preferably the severing member, is moveable toward and away from the other whereby a free end portion of a tape extending from a reel and between the two members is folded upon itself to form a tab responsive to movement of one of the members toward the other.

United States Patent 1 ,810,567 Malcolm May 14, 1974 TAPE DISPENSERATTACHMENT 1,298,081 3/1919 Naito 225/67 2,447,519 8/1948 'Maunsky..225/7 Inventor: George David Malcolm, Sydney,

New South Wales, Australia [22] Filed: June 14, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:262,556

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 13, 1971 Australia 5530/71[52] U.S. Cl 225/67, 225/69, 225/91 [51] Int. Cl.... B26f 3/02 [58]Field of Search 225/7, 67, 68, 69, 72, 225/91 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 43 6.789 9/1890 Jobes 225/72 x PrimaryExaminer-Andrew R. Juhasz Assistant Examiner-Leon Gilden Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Ralph WfKalish 57 ABSTRACT A tape severing and tabforming device formed integral with, but preferably forming anattachment for, a tape dispenser; the device incorporating a tapecontacting member and a tape severing member. One of v 4 Claims, 11Drawing Figures This invention relates to a tape severing and tabforming attachment for use on a dispenser of the type which carries oris adapted to receive a spool of selfadhesive tape.

The invention may be broadly defined as providing a tape severing andtab forming attachment mounted to or adapted for mounting to a tapedispenser, the attachment comprising a tape contacting member and a tapesevering member, one of said members being movable relative to theother, whereby a free end portion of a tape extending from a reel andbetween the two members is folded upon itself to form a tab responsiveto movement of one of the'members.

In operation of the dispenser attachment and after forming a tab at thefree end portion of a spooled tape, a selected length of the tape may beunreeled from the spool and be severed by the severing member.

The attachment may take various forms, as will be apparent from thefollowing description, and it may be provided as either an accessory toor as a fixed portion of a dispenser unit. Thus, in the latter case, thetape contacting member or the tape severing member may be constituted bya (fixed) integral portion of the dispenser unit and the expressionattachment as employed herein is to be understood in this context.

Also, it will be appreciated from the following description that theinvention is applicable to formation of a tab at the free end portion ofcellulose or other plastics material tapes and, additionally, to tabformation on, for example, gummed paper tapes. In the latter case itwould normally be necessary to pass the tape over a wetted roller orsponge in order to render the gum adhesive and the expressionself-adhesive tape as herein employed is to be read as embracing a tapewhich may be rendered adhesive prior to formation of the tab endportion.

The invention will be more fully understood from the followingdescription of two exemplary embodiments thereof taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings wherein,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofa tape dispenser fitted with a tapesevering and tabbing attachment,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged (sectional) elevation view of the attachment shownmounted to an end portion of the dispenser, the view being taken alongplane 22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the attachment per se,

FIG. 4 is a scrap elevational view of the attachment with a tapesevering member thereof shown in an open position,

FIG. 5 is an end elevation view of the tape severing member taken in thedirection of Arrow 5 in FIG. 3,

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are schematic representations of the attachmentshowing the tab forming function thereof in progressive stages,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view ofa tape dispenser in accordance with asecond embodiment of the invention, the dispenser incorporating a tapesevering and tabbing attachment,

FIG. 8 is an elevation view of the dispenser of FIG.

7 showing a severing operation being performed on the tape, and

FIG. 9 is an elevation view of the dispenser of FIG. 7 showing a tabforming operation being performed on the tape.

The dispenser unit as illustrated by FIG. 1 is of more or lessconventional construction, it having a base 10 which is recessed at 11to receive a spool of selfadhesive cellulose tape 12 which, when reeledfrom the spool, passes over a forward portion or pedestal 13 of thebase. However, whereas a conventional dispenser would normally beprovided upon the pedestal with a simple (serrated) tape severing blade,the illustrated unit is provided with a tape severing and tabbingattachment 14.

The attachment 14 is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 2 to S and,as shown, it comprises a tape contacting member .15 and a tape severingmember 16 which is pivotably mounted to member 15. The two members arehinged one to the other by a hinge pin 17 and the tape severing member16 is spring biased into engagement with the tape contacting member 15by a helically wound torsion spring 18.

The two members 15 and 16 are moulded from a synthetic resin, typicallya thermoplastic material, and they are formed with integrally mouldedjournals l9 and 20 for receipt of the hinge pin 17.

The tape contacting member 15 is formed with two opposed legs 21 and 22,which fit about and resiliently clamp the member to the dispenserpedestal (as shown in FIG. 2), and with a connecting ramp 23. The ramp23 is inclined at such an angle that, when the member 15 is fitted tothe dispenser unit and the tape 12 is drawn from the spool, the tapetends to make contact with the forwardmost edge only of the ramp. Thisangular relationship between the ramp 23 and the tape 12 is indicated bythe letter A in FIG. 2.

A lip 24 is formed upon the upper edge of the tape severing member 16,the lip being inclined outwardly and downwardly away from theforwardmost edge of the ramp, to meet a blade edge portion 25 of thetape severing member. As shown in FIG. 5, the crests of the blade teethare located above the lip 24 but the teeth troughs are disposed belowthe level of the lip. This construction assures that, in severing aportion of the tape length an end portion of the remaining tape willadhere to the lip 24 rather than rest upon and adhere to the bladeportion only of the severing member.

Operation of the above described device is illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6Cof the drawings.

Thus, a free end portion of the tape 12 may be unreeled from the spool,be placed in contact with both the blade 25 and the forward edge of theramp 23, and be drawn across the forward edge of the ramp to hinge theblade severing member 16 outwardly in the direction indicated by thearrow in FIG. 6A. Thereafter, the extreme free end of the tape (as showndotted in FIG. 6A) would be severed from the remainder of the tape, andthe tape severing member 16 would return (under the influence of thespring tension) to its normal position. During return of the member 16 atab end 26 of the tape would be folded upon itself as shown in theprogressive illustrations of FIGS. 68 and 6C.

After formation of the tab 26 a further length of tape may be unreeledfrom the spool and be severed, with or without a further tab end beingformed.

In order to avoid excessive hingeing movement of the tape severingmember 16 and consequential folding of the tape around the forward edgeof the ramp 23 (which condition would result in the tab being deflecteddownwardly instead of upwardly as shown), a nib 27 is formed upon thejournals 20 for engagement with the tape contacting member 15, as shownin FIG. 4.

Reference is now made to F I68. 7 to 10 of the drawings wherein there isshown a hand-pack type tape dispenser incorporating a tape severing andtabbing attachment. However, whereas in the previously describeddispenser unit the attachment comprises a totally separable device, inthe unit shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 the attachment" is formed in part by atape casing 30.

The tape casing comprises an obling pack of a plastics material whichhouses a spool of tape 31. A free end portion 32 of the tape passes fromthe spool, over a roller 33 and through an exit slit 34 in one edge 35of the casing.

The roller 33 is journal mounted in opposite side walls 36 of thecasing. v

A tape severing member 37 of construction similar to that abovedescribed is hinge mounted to the casing by way of journals 38, 39 and ahinge pin 40. However, in this case, the severing member is not springbiased against the casing, the tab forming operation being effectedmanually rather than with the aid of a spring.

Thus, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a free end portion of the tape 31 wouldbe placed in contact with the blade of the severing member 37 and cut asshown at 41 in FIG. 8. Then, the tape severing member would be pressedback toward the casing (as shown in FIG. 9) such that a tab 42 is formedto contact the edge 35 of the casing, such edge constituting a tapecontacting member with respect to which the tape severing member moves.

I claim:

1. For use with a dispenser of tape from a spool, an attachmentcomprising a tape contacting member disposed in the path of tapeextending from the spool, a tape severing member having an edge portion,a knife having a plurality of spaced apart teeth provided on said edgeportion,,there being a trough between adjacent teeth on said knife, alip portion provided on said edge portion, means hingedly mounting saidtape severing member for movement of said edge portion toward and awayfrom tape contacting member, said lip being between said blade and saidtape contacting member and having an inclined surface forming an acuteangle with the plane of the blade, each knife tooth having a crest abovesaid lip inclined surface, the trough between said teeth being belowsaid lip inclined surface;

. said lip being between said blade and 'said tape contacting member andhaving an inclined surface forming an acute angle with the plane of theblade, said tape contacting member having a ramp-forming surface with aspool-adjacent edge and a spool-remote edge, said surface being inclineddownwardly from said spool-remote edge to-said spool-adjacent edgewhereby tape being drawn from said spool tends to contact said spoolremote edge.

3. For use with a dispenser of tape from a spool, said dispenserincorporating a mounting pedestal, an attachment comprising a tapecontacting member disposed in the path of tape extending from the spool,said tape contacting member having a pair of spaced apart legs disposedon opposite sides of said pedestal in embracing relationship thereto, atape severing member having an edge portion, a blade provided on saidedge portion, a lip portion provided on said edge portion, meansprovided on one of said legs hingedly mounting said tape severing memberfor movement of said edge portion toward and away from tape contactingmember, said lip being between said blade and said tape contactingmember and having an inclined surface forming an acute angle with theplane of the blade.

4. An attachment as defined in claim 3 and further characterized bymeans biasing said tape severing member toward said tape contactingmember.

mg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 3155 Dated May 1 1974 Inventor) George David Malcolm It is certified thaterror appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 4, Claim 1, line 7, change the semicolon to a. "period".

Signed and sealed this 24th day of September 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. 0. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. For use with a dispenser of tape from a spool, an attachmentcomprising a tape contacting member disposed in the path of tapeextending from the spool, a tape severing member having an edge portion,a knife having a plurality of spaced apart teeth provided on said edgeportion, there being a trough between adjacent teeth on said knife, alip portion provided on said edge portion, means hingedly mounting saidtape severing member for movement of said edge portion toward and awayfrom tape contacting member, said lip being between said blade and saidtape contacting member and having an inclined surface forming an acuteangle with the plane of the blade, each knife tooth having a crest abovesaid lip inclined surface, the trough between said teeth being belowsaid lip inclined surface;
 2. For use with a dispenser of tape from aspool, an attachment comprising a tape contacting member disposed in thepath of tape extending from the spool, a tape severing member having anedge portion, a blade provided on said edge portion, a lip portionprovided on said edge portion, means hingedly mounting said tapesevering member for movement of said edge portion toward and away fromtape contacting member, said lip being between said blade and said tapecontacting member and having an inclined surface forming an acute anglewith the plane of the blade, said tape contacting member having aramp-forming surface with a spool-adjacent edge and a spool-remote edge,said surface being inclined downwardly from said spool-remote edge tosaid spool-adjacent edge whereby tape being drawn from said spool tendsto contact said spool remote edge.
 3. For use with a dispenser of tapefrom a spool, said dispenser incorporating a mounting pedestal, anattachment comprising a tape contacting member disposed in the path oftape extending from the spool, said tape contacting member having a pairof spaced apart legs disposed on opposite sides of said pedestal inembracing relationship thereto, a tape severing member having an edgeportion, a blade provided on said edge portion, a lip portion providedon said edge portion, means provided on one of said legs hingedlymounting said tape severing member for movement of said edge portiontoward and away from tape contacting member, said lip being between saidblade and said tape contacting member and having an inclined surfaceforming an acute angle with the plane of the blade.
 4. An attachment asdefined in claim 3 and further characterized by means biasing said tapesevering member toward said tape contacting member.